Last Updated: June 4, 2012 08:17am ET

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A $94-million loan advances the project at 3001 Washington Blvd.

ARLINGTON, VA-Penzance has secured a $94-million non-recourse construction finance loan from SunTrust for its 280,000-square foot office project that it is building at 3001-3003 Washington Blvd., in the Clarendon submarket. Jones Lang LaSalles Wes Boatwright, Jon Goldstein and Mike Yavinsky helped secure the loan for the project.

The amount--$94 million--is eyebrow raising, especially in the current environment. Most construction finance lenders like to keep loans at $50 million, Boatwright tells GlobeSt.com. Needless to say, that limit makes it challenging for developers to do a deal of any size, he notes, especially in a market like DC. They wind up getting financing from more than one source.

This particular project, of course, is a strong one, with a 58% prelease, this to CNA. It also has a strong equity partner in Invesco.

Still, SunTrust is to be lauded for the financing it is providing, Boatwright says. Besides the unusually large size of the loan, the lender offered a streamlined approval process and terms with which the borrower felt comfortable. SunTrust was willing to underwrite the loan but reserved the right to sell part of it, he says. Other lenders said they would commit to the loan, but if they were unable to sell part of it, they would change the terms. The borrower found that to be unacceptable.

Continue reading here:
Penzance Secures $94M Construction Finance Loan

Construction on Panera Bread at 481 E. Loop 281 is wrapping up with the complete makeover of a former office building.

The structure is set to be turned over by the contractor to the franchisees as soon as this week.

Earl Taylor, president of Harmony Food Service Texas, which will operate the new eatery, said once the transfer takes place that hiring and training will occupy management for the next few weeks.

As of late this past week, Taylor said the targeted opening date for Panera Bread is June 25. The bakery cafe should employ about 60 workers.

Panera will have interior seating for about 120 people with additional patio seating, Taylor said.

It will also feature a drive through.

DS Construction Services received a city building permit for construction valued at $681,500 months ago for transforming the former radio broadcast offices and studio into a restaurant.

Grand re-opening

The Junior League of Longview will show off the organizations recently renovated building at 1109 N. Fourth St. with a grand re-opening from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Thursday.

The structure holds offices and meeting rooms for The Junior League along with The Bargain Box retail center featuring Neiman Marcus merchandise.

Read the original:
Business Beat: Late June opening set for Panera Bread

HENDERSONVILLE, N.C. --

From the outside, the new federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement building doesnt appear to be a typical office.

Located at 518 Sixth Avenue West, the building'swindows are tinted and surrounding the parking lot is an 8-foot chain-link fence topped with barbed wire. But the City of Hendersonville didnt question plans for the site until a zoning inspector took a look inside.

When she did that inspection, she was shown a room that was intended for processing people who are in the custody of ICE agents, said city manager Bo Ferguson.

According Ferguson, the city was aware of who was going to occupy the facility which has been leased by the federal government for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, an agency within the Department of Homeland Security.

They described it as an office building, adds Ferguson.

Following the inspection, Ferguson and others now believe the federal government wants to use the facility to process or detain people, which is a problem because the property is zoned for office space.

It's a matter of not what they're doing, but where they're doing it, and I do think we can find a more suitable location," said Hendersonville resident Diane Dorsey Pearce.

Pearces doctor is located across the street from the facility, which has raised concerns from nearby medical practices.

Pardee Hospital administration has told the city that the building violates patient safety.

Read more:
Inspection Reveals Plans For New ICE Office

RSV Building Solutions, a Vancouver-based commercial construction company specializing in new construction, remodeling, maintenance and tenant improvement projects, has started a renovation project for AHA! (Alling Henning Associates Inc.), a local communications firm.

The renovation involves expanding AHA!s current office in Vancouvers City Hall building to the entire sixth floor, adding 3,418 square feet for a total of 15,324 square feet of office space. RSV will add 19 new work stations, four new offices, two conference rooms, a kitchenette and will remodel the caf area, including adding a soda dispenser and new cabinetry.

This is a great opportunity to serve such a wonderful local business, said RSV President Ron Frederiksen. AHA! is a fantastic client and we are extremely excited to be a part of its growth.

RSV began construction April 16, and has had workers operate at night to prevent disturbing the offices daytime operations. The first phase of the project includes building out the open space on the 6th floor and remodeling the caf, as well as adding the conference room, with a projected completion date near the end of June. The second phase involves remodeling the former Moss Adams kitchen area, with a projected completion date near the end of July.

RSV worked with LSW Architects and Cohabit Design & Construct on the project.

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RSV renovates AHA! office for expansion

An imposing brick building encircled by black fencing has been growing on Lower Sacramento Road in Woodbridge. It's the new office for the Woodbridge Irrigation District. District staff are still unpacking and sweeping up the last of the construction dust, but the project is complete.

The new office blends Italian and and Spanish styling with a sense of Woodbridge history, and puts district operations right next door to the facilities they manage.

It cost $1 million to build, but the district didn't borrow a cent to pay for it.

"It's bought and paid for," said district manager Andy Christensen proudly. "Now we have a place to convey our rich history. We couldn't do it in the old building."

The district has been in a constant state of construction since Christensen joined them in 1996. Between building the new dam, the fish screen, the fish ladder and now this new building, there seemed to be no end to the projects. But now they are all complete, and the district can turn its attention to improving canals and pipelines in the field.

District staff spent two years planning the building and lining up permits. Designers were keen for the new structure to blend in with other brick buildings on Lower Sacramento Road, such as Cactus Mexican Dining and Woodbridge Crossing.

"We didn't want something ultra-modern," said Christensen.

Spanish and Italian influences are present in the sandy tile floors, the marble counter and open, airy layout.

On the left in the main hallways is a lighted display case full of historical Woodbridge artifacts. It holds rusty mining equipment, photographs of women walking on the 1891 dam and a water level recorder that uses a clock mechanism to mark the change in water level at the dam for a week at a time.

The case is bordered with beams dredged up from 25 feet below the riverbed. District staff ran into the 16 foot beams when they excavated that portion of the river to build the fish screen in 2008. They were the support piles for the 1891 dam. Now the beams are dotted with replica square iron bolts designed to match those used in the original Woodbridge Dam.

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Woodbridge Irrigation opens new office

SUGAR LAND, TX--(Marketwire -05/31/12)- A recently completed study conducted by Thomas Kriger, Ph.D., a political scientist and budget expert, compares the benefits of the Building & Construction Trades Department, also known as America's Building Trades Union to the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) association. Professor Kriger reports that the Associated Builders and Contractors represent less than .03% of U.S. construction establishments (based on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics) though it purports to speak for 80%; that it has nominal presence in the United States, compared to the unionized industry, as a sponsor of Registered Apprenticeship; and that its primary focus has been adoption of "model legislation" drafted by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). For details watch a video webcast of an interview with Professor Kriger on http://www.industrialinfo.com.

View interview with Professor Kriger by clicking link to Industry Today Webcast

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, and eight offices outside of North America, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. To contact an office in your area, visit the http://www.industrialinfo.com "Contact Us" page.

Link:
America's Building Trades Union Study Extols Benefits of Union Labor Over Open Shop Labor, an Industrial Today Webcast ...

NORWELL South Shore Medical Center has broken ground on construction of an 80,000-square-foot medical building that will be state-of-the-art and innovative, according to doctors, who described its layout as enabling a team-based health care model focused on illness prevention.

The $20 million Longwater Drive building is also kind of a big deal in Norwell, said Jeff DeMarco, a town resident and president of Campanelli Construction, the Braintree-based company managing the project.

What is really exciting about the facility is that, I dare say, it is the most significant new commercial construction that is happening in Norwell, DeMarco said.

People are going to be talking about it a lot more now that weve broken ground on the project and those in the know are talking about it already, he said of the May 18 groundbreaking. The building is expected to open in late 2013.

With its 100 examination rooms, 70 medical offices, cafe, natural light-filled atrium, and landscaped grounds, the building is being constructed at a fortuitous time for the town, DeMarco said, since it represents an increase in the nonresidential tax base in Norwell on the heels of the recently approved $2.9 million property tax hike.

The new building will be the anchor of a medical campus in Assinippi Park, offering patients easier access, additional parking, less traffic, and more advanced diagnostic and treatment equipment, according to South Shore Medical Center, a division of Atrius Health, which has offices in Norwell, Weymouth, and Kingston.

This is the model of the future in medicine, said Dr. Stan Sacon, chief executive of the medical center, who spoke enthusiastically about the more integrated approach to patient health possible within a space that will allow doctors and medical staff to work alongside wellness specialists, nutritionists, and others.

Were really looking at the whole patient. The old-fashioned approach where it was a row of exam rooms and a doctors office doesnt work anymore, said Sacon, one of the cofounders of South Shore Medical Center, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.

We need to do more than just treat illness, he said. We want to keep people as healthy as possible for as long as we can and not wait until they are sick it is good for the patient and it lowers the cost of health care, he said.

Half a century ago, Sacon started the group practice in a Norwell office building, bringing together general practitioners and specialists, a cutting-edge concept at a time when most doctors worked solo.

Excerpt from:
Medical building work starts

Faced with budget concerns, the governor is going against lawmakers' request to proceed with building a new state office building at the site of the former Safeway store on Pioneer Avenue.

By Trevor Brown tbrown@wyomingnews.com

CHEYENNE -- Gov. Matt Mead has ordered the state to hold off on plans that could lead to a new state office building in the Capital City.

Mead said Wednesday that he directed construction officials not to spend $4.4 million, which the Legislature previously approved, to complete the design work for the proposed building.

The designs are needed before legislators would be asked to approve construction, which is expected to cost between $60 million and $80 million.

The building would go up at the site of the former Safeway grocery store on Pioneer Avenue.

Lawmakers wrote to Mead earlier this month asking that he proceed. But the governor said he is using his budget authority to indefinitely suspend action because of budget concerns.

"We are currently reviewing budget cuts that will have an impact across state government," Mead said in a statement. This is not the time to spend money on a large construction project; it is the time for fiscal restraint.

Meads decision also clouds the future for a proposed renovation of the State Capitols interior.

Officials have said the new building could first serve as a meeting place for officials and legislators to work during the renovation, which would overlap at least one session.

The rest is here:
Mead puts office building on hold

By Ilan Kolet and Greg Quinn - 2012-05-31T10:30:00Z

Canadian construction employment is surging to a record amid public works projects, energy investment and homebuilding, even as U.S. building jobs fall to the least in more than 65 years.

The CHART OF THE DAY shows construction employment made up 7.42 percent of Canadas workforce in April, the highest in records dating back to 1975, while the comparable U.S. figure fell to 4.18 percent, the lowest since 1946.

Canada has continued to spend on long-term infrastructure after curbing its stimulus package, Canadian Construction Association President Michael Atkinson says. In contrast, the U.S. Congressional Budget Office says there may be a recession next year if lawmakers dont avoid a looming fiscal cliff of tax increases and spending cuts.

We are pretty optimistic, Atkinson said in a telephone interview from Edmonton, Alberta, where companies such as Imperial Oil Ltd. (IMO) are building projects in the oil sands.

In many parts of the country we saw no recession at all and the main reason was the stimulus plan, he said. What we are now seeing is the resource sector is back. There are about 30 construction projects worth at least C$1 billion ($973 million) versus about half a dozen a few years ago, led by government and natural resource companies, Atkinson said.

Housing markets are another difference between the neighboring countries -- Canadas housing starts reached the highest since 2007 last month, supported by low mortgage rates and demand for condominiums in big cities, while U.S. starts for April were about half of the pace recorded five years ago.

To contact the reporters on this story: Ilan Kolet in Ottawa at ikolet@bloomberg.net; Greg Quinn in Ottawa at gquinn1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alex Tanzi at atanzi@bloomberg.net; Christopher Wellisz at cwellisz@bloomberg.net

Read more here:
Canadian Building Jobs Boom While U.S. Busts: Chart of the Day

Wausau, Wis. - U.S. General Services Administration's (GSA's) Federal Office Building 8 (FOB 8) will soon complete its major modernization. The project includes Wausau Window and Wall Systems blast-mitigating curtainwall to enhance the faade with contemporary aesthetics and high-performance functionality, providing occupants with expansive views and plentiful access to natural light.

Upon completion, anticipated before the end of 2012, the project will seek LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. Maximizing daylighting strategies, the exterior renovations entail replacing a large portion of the existing limestone faade with vast expanses of glazing. Additions and expansions include a glass entrance pavilion at the building's north side, projected window bays on the south faade, and two new atria.

Wausau custom-engineered and fabricated Blast Hazard Mitigation (BHM) Series four-sided, unitized curtainwall. "To alleviate some of the headaches often associated with customized, complex systems, our unitized systems streamline the installation process by pre-fabricating the various components into large, pre-assembled units that can be crane-lifted from the truck and quickly installed on the building," explains Kevin Robbins, Wausau's regional sales manager for the D.C. area.

In addition to the unitized wall, Wausau provided point-supported glass wing walls and atrium curtainwall systems. In total, Tidewater Glazing, Inc. installed approximately 60,000 square feet of Wausau's high-performance systems on the project.

FOB 8 occupies the entire block at 3rd and C Streets SW, in Washington, D.C. It originally housed Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) headquarters and laboratories. Designed by Boggs & Partners, the renovations will transform the property into a half-million square foot Class A office space nestled in a park-like setting. Once FOB 8's transformation is complete, the Architect of the Capitol and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will lease the space.

"Keeping and renovating the site represents the most cost-effective and sustainable alternative for the American taxpayer. It is also an interesting challenge to remake a '60s-era building into an attractive neighbor in this prominent location," said Regional Commissioner for Public Buildings Service Bart Bush at the groundbreaking ceremony on June 15, 2010.

FDA vacated the building in 2002 and interior renovation began. GSA awarded the $72.8 million contract to Turner Construction Company in January 2010. The 545,000-square-foot building is comprised of eight levels: a basement, a ground level, and six additional stories. There also is a rooftop penthouse containing mechanical equipment.

The project scope includes the renovation of the exterior of the building and its grounds, the addition of an entrance pavilion, and the installation of permanent perimeter security. The permanent security measures were developed in accordance with the Interagency Security Committee (ISC) Security Design Criteria for New Federal Office Buildings and Major Modernization Projects.

Providing a secured entrance, the newly constructed pavilion masks its apparent mass and scale with a combination of granite and glazed walls. The main building's renovated faade vertically orients the glass to provide visually consistency with the modern, Stripped Classical style of the adjacent buildings. Charles Klauder designed both of FOB 8's neighbors: The Mary Switzer Building was constructed in 1939-1940. The Wilbur J. Cohen Building was constructed in 1939 for the Social Security Administration.

Views from FOB 8's windows include many other historically and architecturally significant structures, such as the Modernist-styled Hubert H. Humphrey Building designed by Marcel Breuer in 1976 and the Beaux Art-styled U.S. Botanic Gardens' glass-enclosed conservatory designed by Bennett Parsons & Frost in 1902. For outdoor greenspace, FOB 8's tenants are just one block north from the National Mall and can see dozens of tree species lining the area's pedestrian and transit pathways.

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Wausau Modernizes D.C. Federal Office Building's Renovated Exterior, Supports LEED Goals with ...